


Close your eyes, go to sleep

by antikytheras



Category: Dishonored (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Corvo is a teacher, Domestic Fluff, M/M, Yes you read that right, and the Outsider lost his personality somewhere along the line D:
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-14
Updated: 2015-02-14
Packaged: 2018-03-12 09:53:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3352286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/antikytheras/pseuds/antikytheras
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Three times Corvo stayed awake far later than he should have and one time he couldn't.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Close your eyes, go to sleep

**Author's Note:**

> Written for V-Day 2015.
> 
> Originally started off as a drabble but it got much longer than expected.

Corvo, the Outsider muses, works too hard entirely.

There are days where he comes home to the sight of Corvo sitting at the dining table, typing away at his laptop or grading papers. On good days, a small smile lights his face up. Perhaps his students had done remarkably well, or they’d all handed up their work on time. Or maybe he’s amused by some particularly ridiculous answer his little demons came up with. The Outsider’s seen some of the more inane ones, and even he has to admit they are entertaining, to say the least.

_(‘Look at this,’ Corvo groaned, flinging a worksheet in the vague direction of the Outsider, ‘and feel my pain.’_

_As it turned out, Corvo must have meant it in a literal manner because the worksheet crash-landed spectacularly on the Outsider’s face._

_Gingerly, he plucked it off and peered at the spindly script._

_‘…I was unaware that gravity worked in such a cruel manner’ was his reply._

_‘That’s putting it mildly,’ Corvo huffed. ‘Imagine if planes actually immediately reversed their acceleration and just went backwards if their engines failed immediately after take-off.’_

_‘You might want to consider re-teaching the chapter on kinematics, unless you mean to tell me that Newton’s Third Law does, in fact, work that way.‘_

_Corvo snorted. ‘But seriously, it would be like taking a video of a plane taking off and then watching it in reverse. Except with an explosion added, probably.’_

_‘Regardless. You seem to be encouraging sadistic tendencies in your students, setting a question that essentially asks ‘how many people would die if a plane’s engines stopped ten seconds after take-off?’’_

_Corvo scoffed, his attention already back on his worksheets. ‘Would I do such a thing?’_

_The Outsider said nothing, and continued reading his book with a small smile on his face.)_

On not-so-good days, a small frown mars his usually-cheerful expression and there’s a sort of weariness draped around him like a grey woolen cloak. Usually this means that he’s starting to worry about his students, so he will step up his efforts and probably offer them more make-up lessons and start coming home later and later till the Outsider, who works horrendously ridiculous hours, comes home earlier than Corvo does.

_(Corvo barged in through the front door with a high-pitched ‘Honey, I’m home!’_

_His imitation of a housewife from the nineteen-fifties would probably have been entertaining if it weren’t one in the morning, and if the Outsider hadn’t been waiting for two hours longer than he should have._

_The Outsider did not reply, instead continuing to leaf through the thick book in his hands. His legs had gone numb from sitting in the armchair for so long, and his frosty expression spoke volumes._

_At that, Corvo’s overly-cheerful expression fell away and he actually looked guilty. ‘Oh. I thought you’d be less mad at me if I made you laugh.’_

_‘I’m going to bed,’ was all the Outsider said, and so he did._

_Minutes later, he felt Corvo crawl hesitantly into bed and reach out for his shoulder. When he did not shrug him off, Corvo mumbled, ‘I was giving a couple of my students remedial because they didn’t understand a few topics so I went through them and it got late pretty quick so I sent them home. I didn’t mean to mess up your surprise.’_

_‘Forget it,’ the Outsider replied curtly._

_Corvo curled up against the Outsider and whispered soft apologies, and the Outsider sighed and relented, turning over and pulling Corvo close. There was no point in remaining angry._

_The cake had been sitting out for so long that it had probably already gone stale, anyway.)_

On bad days, Corvo will be wearing his glasses and there’ll be a cold mug of coffee sitting nearby. His eyelids will probably be drooping and he’ll yawn every once in a while, and to the Outsider, it looks as if all the light has gone out of his eyes. His upright posture wilts into a slouch, and sometimes, he’s this close to falling asleep at the dining table.

He looks so very, very tired, and the Outsider hates to see him so.

_(‘You should sleep.’_

_The Outsider’s voice cut through the silence in the dim dining room. They’d paid extra for bright lights all over the house, but in the Outsider’s sleep-deprived haze, the room was a mute, smoky grey._

_Corvo waved him off, though with much less strength than usual. ‘It’s fine. I’m almost done anyway.’_

_He looked half-dead from where the Outsider was leaning against the door frame, arms crossed. ‘It is two in the morning. You will have to wake at six to get to school on time tomorrow. How will you teach well if you are exhausted?’_

_‘The students are the ones who need to do well, and if I come up with enough practice questions, they won’t have to push themselves too hard to do extra work.’_

_At that, the Outsider drifted over and took a look at the questions he had set so far._

_‘You have done more than enough. They need to work to achieve their desires, and they should not be relying on you. Your students are bright and capable and they will be able to handle this. Now come to bed.’_

_Defeated, Corvo grudgingly accepted his proffered arm and dragged himself into the bedroom.)_

Today, though, is the first time that the Outsider comes home to the sight of Corvo asleep at the dining table.

Somehow, he’s still upright, but his eyes are closed and he’s starting to lean toward the right. Exhaustion is written on his face, clear as day, even in the depths of his slumber. A half-eaten sandwich lies forgotten on a plate, and the red pen that he’s holding falls out of his grasp with a clattering sound.

With a sigh, the Outsider picks up the pen, organizes his worksheets and papers, throws the sandwich into the fridge and puts the empty mug that once held coffee into the sink.

He only hesitates slightly before gently taking Corvo’s glasses off and sliding them into his pocket. Then, he reaches one arm across Corvo’s back and the other under his knees, and lifts him up with some difficulty. It’s a good thing he’s not a big man, because the Outsider doubts he’d be able to carry him otherwise.

 If Corvo were awake, he’d probably have protested about being carried bridal-style.

Instead, to the Outsider’s surprise, Corvo actually _snuggles_ his face into the Outsider’s shoulder, and continues sleeping with a contented little sigh.

The Outsider looks down at him with something that could almost be warm affection. ‘You are the most fascinating person I have ever had the pleasure of meeting,’ he mumbles, and carries him to their room.

It’s not quite an ‘I love you’, but it will have to do.


End file.
